Flames prospect Gillies comfortable with decision to return to school at Providence, rather than turn pro

Kristen Odland, Calgary Herald04.04.2014

Providence goaltender Jon Gillies watches the puck during the second period against Quinnipiac in the NCAA men’s East Regional hockey tournament last weekend. The Flames prospect announced he will be returning to the school for his junior season next fall, rather than try to turn pro.

After beating Quinnipiac to advance to the NCAA East Regional semifinal last weekend — which put the Providence College Friars only one game away from the Frozen Four Tournament — and then losing to Union the following evening, Jon Gillies realized that in life, certain opportunities don’t come along very often.

College hockey is one of those opportunities.

“We were sitting on the bus on the way home and I realized that we have a chance to do something special next year with my class . . . we’ll have an older team and a more mature team,” the Calgary Flames prospect was saying Friday, a day after he announced on Twitter his plans of staying for his junior year rather than signing his first National Hockey League contract with the Flames. “Kind of a feeling of unfinished business. I want to come back so I can see it through and make sure I didn’t leave any stone unturned or give it one final chance, one last go.”

Meaning that there is no sense of urgency or rush for the netminder to take the next step in his hockey career.

“Not at all,” said the well-spoken 20-year-old who hails from South Portland, Maine. “Everyone in Calgary has been great about it. It was a weird decision, but I feel like it was the right one.

“It’s funny how you think about making the decision and then when it comes down to it . . . you think it’s going to be this whole big thing, but really, it happens in a matter of two seconds. And that’s that.”

For him, the possibility of joining the Flames’ organization for the 2014-15 season has been lingering over his entire sophomore campaign with the Friars.

The third-rounder, selected by the Flames 75th overall at the 2012 NHL entry draft, had been in contact with Flames interim general manager Brian Burke throughout the year and will meet with Burke in person in the coming weeks. He’ll also report to Calgary’s development camp in June.

Gillies, who was named the Hockey East’s defensive player of the week, helped the Friars to their first NCAA victory since 1991 with a 37-save shutout and 4-0 win over Quinnipiac.

He posted a 19-9-5 regular season record, a 2.16 goals against average, and a .931 save percentage which was built on a tremendous rookie campaign that earned him a selection to the 2012-13 all-Hockey East first team.

“In some ways, it was cool to think about a dream possibly being on the horizon like that,” said the six-foot-five, 215-pounder who made his second appearance playing for the U.S. at the 2014 world junior tournament. “But from a technical standpoint, (another season) will give me a chance to keep growing and keep developing. From an experience standpoint, it’ll allow me to be — for the first time in my career — one of the older guys on my team.

“But most of all, it’ll just be a fun ride with my 11 other classmates we came here together to reinstall a winning culture in Providence. With one more year, I think we can really do it.”

He points to paths of NHL goalies Jimmy Howard and Cory Schneider who both had three-year NCAA careers before turning professional. Schneider played three seasons with the Boston College Eagles while Howard played with the Maine Black Bears.

“They were probably were definitely ready after their sophomore years to move onto the next level,” Gillies said. “But going back for their junior year, it only helped them. Hopefully I’m able to keep my spot and earn as many games as I can next year at Providence. I mean, as long as a goalie is playing at a high level, from a development standpoint, it can only really help him.

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Flames prospect Gillies comfortable with decision to return to school at Providence, rather than turn pro

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